TAVR, TAVI, conscience sedation

March 14, 2017 — Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) for aortic stenosis continues to evolve with the adoption of methods intended to maximize efficacy, safety and patient recovery. Researchers at the Valve Science Center at Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation recently conducted quality improvement review to examine the impact of the use of minimal anesthesia with conscious sedation (CS) in patients with severe, symptomatic aortic stenosis (AS) undergoing TAVR.
 

Stratasys Ltd. announced last week enrollment is now open for 3DHEART, an investigator-initiated trial. 3DHEART, which stands for 3D Hearts Enabling A Randomized Trial, is a randomized, single-blind clinical trial to study the use of patient-specific 3-D-printed models in pre-operative planning for pediatric heart surgery. Stratasys is providing in-kind support with printing of the models to be used in the trial.

A new research study by the Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute assesses relationships between county-level variation in Medicare beneficiary imaging resource consumption and measures of population economic status. The study, published online in the Journal of the American College of Radiology (JACR), found that in the Medicare population, imaging utilization and costs vary greatly at the county level, and far more than at the state level.

The Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) of the European Medicines Agency recently released new recommendations on procedures employing gadolinium-based contrast agents, in which the committee recommended suspension of marketing authorization for four agents.

The most prevalent method for obtaining images of clogged coronary vessels is coronary angiography. For some patients, however, the contrast agents used in this process can cause health problems. A team at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has now demonstrated that the required quantity of these substances can be significantly reduced if monoenergetic X-rays from a miniature particle accelerator are used.

March, 10, 2017 - Medtronic announced that the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved coverage for the Micra Transcatheter Pacing System (TPS). This decision, effective immediately, follows the approval of two studies required to enable reimbursement through Medicare's policy of Coverage with Evidence Development (CED).
 

Zoll Medical Corp. announced that the company’s Hospital Wearable Defibrillator (HWD) has been granted premarket approval (PMA) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market and begin U.S. distribution of the device.

An example of artificial intelligence from the start-up company Viz.AI The image shows how the AI software automatically reviews an echocardiogram, completes an automated left ventricular ejection fraction quantification and then presents the data side by side with the original cardiology report. AI, deep learning, artificial intelligence, medical imaging, cardiology, echo AI, clinical decision support, echocardiography
An example of how Agfa is integrating IBM Watson into its radiology workflow. Watson reviewed the X-ray images and the image order and determined the patient had lung cancer and a cardiac history and pulled in the relevant prior exams, sections of the patient history, cardiology and oncology department information. It also pulled in recent lab values, current drugs being taken. This allows for a more complete view of the patient's condition and may aid in diagnosis or determining the next step in care.  

Artificial intelligence (AI) has captured the imagination and attention of doctors over the past couple years as several companies and large research hospitals work to perfect these systems for clinical use. The first concrete examples of how AI (also called deep learning, machine learning or artificial neural networks) will help clinicians are now being commercialized.
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